


The Ghosts Inside Of Us

by Drakyr



Category: Diablo III
Genre: Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Short One Shot, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-23 21:27:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16626719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drakyr/pseuds/Drakyr
Summary: The followers comfort Tyrael after the loss of their friend, and help him deal with grief as a mortal.





	The Ghosts Inside Of Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darkhelmetj](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkhelmetj/gifts).



> This fanfic was written for darkhelmetj as part of an exchange. She is both generous and talented and I highly recommend all of her work!

 

 

_“The people you love become ghosts inside of you and like this you keep them alive.” – Robert Montgomery_

 

 

                “Has anyone seen where Tyrael went?”

                Kormac looked up to Eirena from his seat. He held a wooden stein of ale in his hands that he hadn’t drank from yet. “No, I haven’t. Not since we returned from the High Heavens.”

                “I think I did,” added Lyndon, finishing his second stein. “I believe I saw him heading to the top of the keep.”

                Eirena’s expression fell. “But that’s where…”

                “Adria betrayed us and killed Leah? It surely is.” Lyndon raised his stein in a salute as empty as his cup as he rose from his seat. “If he wants to dwell on it, that’s his choice. I’d rather drink on it.” The Scoundrel began walking away toward the soldiers’ kegs. The buzz of cheering drifted in from parts of Bastion’s Keep. In others, dead bodies were being gathered.

                “Perhaps we should go to him…We all mourn Leah. He should not mourn alone.”

                Lyndon paused and looked over a shoulder. “And why should we do that?”

                Kormac replied first. “He is our companion, is he not? Our brother in arms?”

                “We are all Tyrael has, now that he is mortal. Like a family,” added Eirena. “Just as you are to me in this time. I cannot celebrate our victory with such a heavy heart. So instead, I will support the people I care about.”

                A bit of pink appeared on the Templar’s cheeks. “I will go with you to see him,” said Kormac as he stood. He held his stein out to their resident rogue. “Do as you will, Lyndon.”

                Kormac’s drink happened to be closer than the kegs, so Lyndon returned to his companions and took it.

                And then he drank it.

                Eirena and Kormac watched him down everything in the stein with raised brows. And when Lyndon finished, he threw the stein over his shoulder.

                “ _Fine_ ,” said the Scoundrel at last, no shortage of exasperation in his voice. The stein clattered behind him. “Let’s go be sentimental.”

 

* * *

 

 

                Tyrael stood atop the highest tower in Bastion’s Keep. Light snowfall rode the soft, cold wind that rustled his cape; he was unmoving otherwise. Two empty wood water buckets sat at his feet, their contents smearing the bloody sigil and snuffing the candles on the floor. Thin laces of frost edged the wet spots. The bodies had been cleared away, leaving only him and the remnants of evil deeds.

                He didn’t speak until the three followers came to stand still behind him.

                “It won’t make a difference. Leah is still gone.” He nudged one bucket with his boot. “There is no cleansing the evil that was done here.”

                Tyrael nudged the bucket again. Then kicked it, cracking it against the parapets.

                “We stopped the greatest evil ever known to creation, and yet all I feel is that we failed!” The furious boom of his voice faded. “We failed her…”

                Eirena moved to stand at Tyrael’s side. She placed one hand upon his arm.

                “Is this mortal grief?” he asked the Enchantress, tears welling in his eyes. “And mortal shame?”

                “You have nothing to be ashamed about,” responded Eirena. “You didn’t do this. You didn’t kill Leah.”

                “I could have stopped it. There must have been a way I could have. I should have sensed Diablo’s essence in Leah, or the wickedness and deceit in Adria’s soul.” Tyrael clenched his hands into fists. “In becoming mortal, I have made myself too weak to do the very thing I became mortal for.”

                Eirena shook her head. “No, Tyrael. If all of that is your fault, then that fault rests on our shoulders, too.”

                “But…I…”

                “And it doesn’t matter now, anyway,” Eirena continued. “Because it is done now. You are right – there’s no undoing any of it. And that means spending too much time with such thoughts will only drown you in sorrow, in the end.”

                Tyrael finally looked to Eirena. He blinked, taking in her words and sending tears down his face in the process.

                She offered him a small smile. “We must grieve, yes. But we must also learn, and live on.”

                Kormac took a place next to Eirena. “Leah would not want us to feel like that, anyway. She was a woman of compassion and sincerity. The Light was strong within her – it’s no wonder you couldn’t sense anything evil in her spirit.”

                One corner of Tyrael’s lips pulled up. “It’s a marvel that Diablo’s own daughter, own _blood_ , could be someone so…good.”

                Lyndon huffed, still standing behind the others. They looked back to him. “She might’ve been of Diablo’s blood, but he was not her father, nor Adria her mother. She had Deckard Cain. She had us. Family is more than our ancestors.”

                There was a moment of quiet.

                “That was…rather heartfelt, Lyndon,” said Kormac.

                “What?” exclaimed the Scoundrel. “I’m trying to speed this along so I can get back to drinking.”

                Kormac crossed his arms over his chest. “Right, of course. Here I thought you were becoming a good man.”

                “Do not slander me.”

                Eirena looked back to Tyrael. He was smiling. “Now that you are mortal, like us,” she began, drawing his attention again. “You can share your pain with us. It is not a burden – it is how we live, by helping each other. Leah would have offered the same thing.”

                Tyrael nodded. “Thank you. She…she did want to help people, more than anything.”

                “Yes, she wanted to start up some kind of inn to help people, right?” said Kormac. He brought one hand up to his chin in thought. “Perhaps we could start one for her, as we rebuild what has been destroyed.”

                Lyndon added, “I don’t know about an inn, but I’m quite familiar with the business of brothels.”

                “Absolutely not,” replied Eirena, deadpan.

                Kormac’s eyes narrowed. “You will _not_ build a den of sin in Leah’s name!”

                “Indeed,” said Tyrael. “The world is dark enough without her now, let’s not make it any worse.”

                Lyndon held up his hands in defeat.

                “I would not go so far as to say the world is darker without her,” began Kormac. “Her Light touched us all. We must carry every spark of her with us, to strengthen our own flames against the darkness.”

                Eirena nodded. “I agree with Kormac. We can visit Leah in our memories, and seek her strength and light. I do the same thing with memories of my Sisters. She is gone from the world, but she will not leave us.”

                “Thank you,” Tyrael responded, placing a hand on Eirena’s shoulder. He looked over all three of his companions as he continued. “I want to thank all of you. My heart is still heavy with grief, but I think I am more equipped to handle it, now.”

                Eirena beamed before pulling Tyrael into a hug, which he returned.

                “Are we done with all the mushy business? Can I go drink now?” asked Lyndon.

                Kormac picked up the remaining bucket. “Perhaps not yet. I think Tyrael had the right idea. We should not leave this wicked filth behind.”

                “Oh, leave that to me,” said Eirena. She turned toward the smudged viscera which marked the death of her friend. Magic flowed through her into the watery blood. With eyes narrowed in focus, she lifted the mess into the air, dissolving it into frost and snow in the cold air.

                “Be… _gone_!”

                Eirena sent it up into the air. The wind carried it away with the rest of the snow.

                “There,” she said, dusting her hands.

                Kormac began collecting strewn candles in the bucket, but Tyrael held up a hand to stop him. “There is no need – I have a better use for them in mind.”

                The candles began levitating, drifting around the keep in a new formation. Their wicks lit when they came to rest. “My power is limited now,” Tyrael began as he came to stand at the formation’s centre, El’Druin summoned to his hands. “But perhaps there is something I can do.”

                He held El’Druin before him and placed the tip against the ground. Sigils in golden-white light appeared, candles accentuating their major points. The former Archangel closed his eyes. From his lips flowed words in a tongue none of the others understood, but assumed to be Angelic. As he spoke, the sigils grew brighter. They glowed in a pure light that left no shadows. Then the radiance burst from them and trickled down into the fort.

                “A blessing of protection,” explained Tyrael as he rejoined his comrades. “To hold off corruption and evil from Bastion’s Keep. May darkness find no hold here ever again. We cannot undo what happened, but we can act in the memory and the light of those we lost.” He smirked. “That is a more human approach to this, right?”

                “I’d say so,” answered Kormac with a nod.

                “Leah would be happy, Tyrael,” added Eirena. “And proud of you.”

                “I agree.” Lyndon finally came to stand at his friends’ side. He slapped one hand down on Kormac’s shoulder. “That certainly was a lovely light show to send Leah off with.”

                Kormac hummed in agreement. “Would you like to get that drink now?”

                “ _Please_!”


End file.
